L1.3.4: Developmental Aspects of the Nervous System

• DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

  ● The nervous system is formed during the first month of embryonic development

  ● Any maternal infection can have extremely harmful effects

  ● Oxygen deprivation destroys brain cells

  ● Hypothalamus is one of the last areas of the brain to develop
• Congenital brain diseases:

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Anencephaly
  • Hydrocephalus
  • Spina Bifida
• Cerebral Palsy

  ● Neuromuscular disability wherein voluntary muscles are poorly controlled

  ● Half of the victims have seizures, are intellectually disabled, and/or have impaired hearing/vision
• Anencephaly

  ● Birth defect where the cerebrum fails to develop

  ● Cannot hear, see, or process memory

  ● Babies die after birth
• Hydrocephalus

  ● Abnormal buildup of BSF in the ventricles of the brain
• Spina Bifida

  ● “Forked spine”

  ● Incomplete vertebrae formation
• ● Premature babies have trouble regulating body temperature because the hypothalamus is one of the last brain areas to mature prenatally

  ● Development of motor control indicates the progressive myelination and maturation of a child’s nervous system

  ● Brain growth ends in young adulthood. Neurons die throughout life and are not replaced; thus, brain mass declines with age
• ● ORTHOSTATIC HYPOTENSION – low blood pressure due to changes in body position

  ○ Why do many older people suffer from this condition?

  ○ Because sympathetic nervous system become less and less efficient, particularly in its ability to constrict blood vessels
• ● Healthy aged people maintain nearly optimal intellectual function

  ● Disease (particularly cardiovascular disease) – major cause of declining mental function with age

  ○ ARTERIOSCLEROSIS — decreased elasticity of blood vessels

  ○ SENILITY — caused by decline of oxygen due to the aging process leading to forgetfulness, irritability, difficulty in concentrating and thinking clearly, confusion